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One hundred years ago today, the guns of war fell silent in Europe.

It is important to remember, however, that the bloodshed of World War I continued right up until the armistice was signed at 11 a.m. Nov. 11, 1918, aboard a railway car in the north of France.

Among those taking part in the final hours of combat was Army Capt. Ernest A. Swingle, who lived much of his life in Scranton and had family ties to both Lackawanna and Wayne counties.

“These men were murdered because everyone was sure the Armistice would be signed,” Swingle wrote of Nov. 11 casualties in an uncensored letter home the following month.

“I have helped to bury men who were killed at the same time a horse was killed and you couldn’t tell what was horse or what was man,” he wrote.

Nearly a century later, Angie Need, a Wilkes-Barre native and ephemera collector, purchased the long-forgotten missive as part of a lot of postcards, photos and other paper items at an estate sale in Moosic.

Need, who has researched the sender and its recipient, shared the letter with the Times Leader in honor of Veterans Day and the armistice centennial.

“This is an important letter. It’s a voice from the past,” Need, 54, said Saturday. “Especially as there are no World War I veterans left to tell the story.”

Swingle’s letter “reveals an important timeline about the armistice that historians to this day debate,” Need said. “Many have speculated the exact time our soldiers were informed of the Armistice and why so many men died unnecessarily.”

The letter

As transcribed by Need, here is the unedited text of that letter:

Dec 11, 1918

Dear Grace,

Received your letter today and was so surprised to get it, that it was necessary to call the doctor who gave me some smelling salts and I recovered from the shock. I feel rather weak yet, but think I will be alright in the morning. I will in fact answer to this letter at once so don’t be alarmed and not write. I guess Howard is dead, as we haven’t heard from him since he was hit. The last I saw of him was on Aug 11th when he brought me a drink and helped put me in the ambulance. I did not think then it would be the last time I would see him. The shells were bursting all around us then. Grace you or anyone else who hasn’t been under heavy shellfire cannot realize what it is. I have seen one shell kill 16 men and wound some of them fatally 20 or thirty more. I have helped to bury men who were killed at the same time a horse was killed and you couldn’t tell what was horse or what was man. It looks funny to see a man go flying up in the air higher than the trees. They look like an old shirt. Well Grace, on the morning of Nov 11, I was in charge of over 1,000 men and we were having a pretty bloody fight when they ordered us to stop fighting. That was at 8:30 in the morning, but the artillery on both sides continued to fire until 11 o’clock. At about 10 minutes of eleven all the guns on both sides opened up, and there was a little hell there for 10 minutes. When it all ceased and everything was quiet, I was riding down a road on a horse when this happened, and it was the most peculiar sensation I ever had. I rode out on the battlefield there was quite a lot of dead lying on the field and they were carrying the wounded in. These men were murdered because everyone was sure the Armistice would be signed. Still we attacked the enemy. Did Eva feel very badly when she learned that Howard was dead? Poor girl I feel sorry for her. I wish I could come home but it will be quite a while yet as the 28th is in the Army of Occupation. I suppose we will go into Germany. I hope all the people in McKinney Hollin are well. Good Bye Grace,

Ernest

Researching the letter

For Need, finding the letter was only the first step, as there was no envelope.

A retired nurse who now lives in Montdale, Need had to undertake some genealogical and historic research to piece together the story of Swingle and the letter’s recipient, his sister-in-law, Grace McKinney Swingle.

Using clues written in the letter, Need said she was able to verify Swingle’s identity and systematically piece together a family tree which linked Grace to Capt. Swingle.

“Other members of Capt. Swingle’s family were identified through genealogical research and support the letter’s authenticity,” she said.

Her sources included U.S. Census and Army records as well as history books and the genealogy site Ancestry.com.

Historical documentation places Swingle in command of Company A 108th Machine Gun Battalion, 28th Infantry Division from Oct. 25 through Dec. 15, 1918, Need said.

“The 28th Infantry Division was of particular importance in WWI and their accomplishments are well documented in historical literature,” she said.

General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front in World War I, referred to the 28th as Men of Iron, Need added. Their sacrifices are commemorated at a shrine on the grounds of the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Centre County.

The 28th has many ties to Northeastern Pennsylvania, Need said, and according to her research, Swingle was one of three brothers who served in the same machine gun battalion.

Only two of the brothers, Ernest and Simon, survived, though both were wounded in action, she found. The youngest brother, Howard — referenced in the letter — died Oct. 6, 1918 from combat wounds suffered in Argonne, France.

Aftermath

Need says Capt. Ernest Swingle attained the rank of lieutenant colonel during WWII. She learned that he died on Aug. 18, 1973, at the age of 86 and is buried in Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Muskogee County, Oklahoma.

Grace McKinney Swingle, to whom the letter is written, passed away Aug. 15, 1985, in Pinellas, Fla., at the age of 90, Need said. Grace was the wife of Capt. Swingle’s younger brother Simon, and the sister of his wife Eva McKinney Swingle, she added.

Need found the letter in a warehouse filled with old boxes and the contents of estate cleanouts, and believes it probably was among items left behind after someone died or moved out of their home.

She has not been able to locate any direct living relatives of Ernest or Grace, but said the Swingle and McKinney surnames are still well known in Wayne County.

Her hope is to find an appropriate home for the letter, perhaps a museum or archival collection where it can be preserved for future generations.

“Few letters of this content survive now, 100 years later, and are becoming more difficult to find,” Need said, adding that it is of particular importance because it contains specific dates and descriptions of battle scenes that were often censored by the military.

“I’m just looking to get this letter to the right place,” she said.

Anyone who may have information about the family, or who might be able to suggest a suitable repository for the letter, can email Need via [email protected].

This is part of the letter Army Capt. Ernest A. Swingle, who lived much of his life in Scranton, sent home a month after a World War I battle on Armistice Day — Nov. 11, 1918. A collector who bought the letter at an estate sale is now trying to find it a proper home.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_attachment-11-copy.jpg.optimal.jpgThis is part of the letter Army Capt. Ernest A. Swingle, who lived much of his life in Scranton, sent home a month after a World War I battle on Armistice Day — Nov. 11, 1918. A collector who bought the letter at an estate sale is now trying to find it a proper home.
NEPA soldier: Fighting continued right up until armistice signed

By Roger DuPuis

[email protected]

PARADE TODAY

The Wyoming Valley Veterans Day parade begins at 2 p.m. today at Kingston Corners, Wyoming Avenue and Market Street. It will proceed from there to Wilkes-Barre Public Square via Market Street.